Beware of the shadows during night!
by little-chocolatecosmos
Summary: There is a man who silently watches the moon of Yoshiwara. What problems will this man create? Just who is this strange man?
1. Chapter 1

***A/N: Hey guys! Today's day 2 of GinTsu/GinTsuki,/GinTsuku week and the prompt is shadow! I had a hard time coming up with this. I tried incorporating the theme as much so I hope it makes sense? Haha anyways here ya go! None of these characters belong to me. (:**

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Chapter 1: A shadow silently watching

Nighttime fell in Yoshiwara. Despite the fact the moon rose and darkness enveloped the town, Yoshiwara continued to bustle with people. During this time the Hyakka's very own leader, Tsukuyo, was on her nightly patrol. She always worked day and night to keep the streets of Yoshiwara safe from harm. Everyone in Yoshiwara from courtesans to male customers all know how hard working Tsukuyo is and held deep respect for her. Even though she wasn't some top class courtesan, she unknowingly attracted a lot of male customers with her beauty. These male customers would always sit in a shop with open area to admire her beauty from afar. Tsukuyo was walking by a tea shop.

"Ah there is the shinigami tayuu. Doing her nightly rounds." One male whispered to his friend.

"I see her. She's a damn beauty. I wish she would give me the time of day." The friend whispered back.

The male started to laugh at his friend. "Ha! As if someone as beautiful as her would ever give you any attention!"

The friend agreed. "Ha, ha! Yeah you're right." Then they both decided to chug down their cup of tea.

Behind the two friends was a man who too lusted after Tsukuyo too...maybe a bit too much. The man had black hair, blue sharp eyes, and was about 6 feet and 1 inch tall. He appeared to be in his early 30s and was very attractive.

"Hayate-san you've come again." A voice called out to him. It appeared that this man's name is Hayate. "What can I get you today?"

"Ah jii-san the usual please." Hayate replied coldly.

"Coming right up!" The shop-owner chirped. Ten minutes later the store owner set down a bag of cookies next to Hayate. "Here you go. Will you be going back to work now?"

"Ah, yeah." Hayate handed over 217 yen. "Keep the change jii-san. Have a nice evening." Hayate smoothly walked about into the shadow of the night and completely blended in to the point he was out of sight in an instance.

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The night dragged on. Yoshiwara wasn't as lively as before and was more in a state of slumber. Tsukuyo was now walking around an empty and quiet town.

 _It's gotten pretty late, I should head back or Hinowa might get worried._ Tsukuyo made sure the area was safe one more time before she decided to head back home. As she was walking by through the corner of her eye she saw a shadowy figure rustling and making low noises in the alley. _Someone suspicious is in tha alley. I needa make sure I don't alert them. They could be dangerous._ Tsukuyo cautiously walked up to the suspicious person. Once she was close enough to the person she kicked the person onto the ground and pinned them there with her kunais. "Who are ya?! What are ya doin' here so late at night?!"

 ***Hic*** "I-I'm shorry officerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr." The suspicious person barely mumbled.

 _Hah?! He's no suspicious person._ _He's justa drunk person!_ Tsukuyo sighed. "Sir, yer clearly intoxicated. Ya should go back home." Tsukuyo took the kunais out from the ground to unpin the man. "Can ya get back home by yerself?"

The man clumsily got up and barely managed to stand. He was swaying back and forth. "Aanksf yes ma'am. Just giiive meh a seconnnnd I need to pee soooooo bad." The man started to unzip himself.

 _Huh? That voice sounds like it belong ta Gintoki. Don' tell me...This is Gintoki?!_ "Oi, Gintoki is that you?!" Tsukuyo asked.

"Areh? You are…" Gintoki began to pee into the corner. After he finished peeing he finished his sentence, "Tsukki!"

Although it was too dark for Gintoki to see, Tsukuyo's face looked like one who lost all faith in humanity. _This is tha man I love. This is tha one ah'm with._ Tsukuyo took a deep breath. "Gintoki, we need ta get you back home. Let me help carry ya back."

"Noooooo. Gin-san doesn't want to go baccccck. Hey Tsukki, LET'S GO PARTY-asfnalngkac." Gintoki started stumbling all over the place.

"This won' do." Tsukuyo took Gintoki's wrist and put his arm around her shoulder. "Ah'm takin' ya back home Gintoki. Let's go back. Kagura must be really worried about ya also." Gintoki only replied with incoherent mumbling. Tsukuyo lead Gintoki out of the alley and back to Yorozuya Gin-san's place.

After seeing Tsukuyo disappear from his sight, Hayate jumped down from the top of the roof. He had been watching Tsukuyo from the shadows. "She's always helping him and next to him. You are really too kind, Tsukuyo. That man doesn't deserve someone like you." With one swift movement Hayate flicked out a small knife with his hand. "The lover of the shinigami tayuu, Sakata Gintoki, you must be out of the picture. Hayate stepped out of the alley. "But for now I must attend to my prey." Just like a shadow he disappeared into the dark night once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Keep an eye out for anything suspicious

In the Yorozuya headquarters.

"AH!" Gintoki looked like death. "My damn head hurts so much!" He gulped down strawberry milk.

"That's your own fault Gin-chan. You abuse the free drinks you can get too much." Kagura said with her mouth full of rice and egg.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You know Gin-san can't pass up on free stuff though." Gintoki laid down on the couch to get over the hangover. Meanwhile Kagura turned on the television which was on the news channel.

"It has been reported that another woman's body has been found in the streets of Edo. According to the police it is revealed that she died at 2:14 AM last night. This is the 10th woman to die such a gruesome way. Whoever the killer is they like to dye their victim's hair blonde and leave scars on their faces after they have brutally killed them. If anyone has any information pertaining to this case please call the police. All information will be confidential and anonymous. Please stay safe everybody!" Kagura switched the television off.

"What a jerk-aru. What kind of twisted guy can cold-heartedly kill those women-aru?!" Kagura burst in anger.

"He's a sick bastard indeed. Kagura you shouldn't wander late at night also. It's too dangerous." Gintoki warned her. Something about the information he had heard left him feeling uncanny. _It's so weird that the murderer likes to dye their victim's hair blonde and leave scars on their face after they die. I wonder what's the motive behind this._

Just then the bell rang. ***Ding dong***

"Oi, Kagura check who it is." Gintoki said with a deadpan expression.

"Gin-chan why don't you check-aru? I'm still eating, yes?" Kagura replied with a deadpan expression.

"Ugh, fine." Gintoki got off the couch and went for the door. "Who is it?" He asked as he was sliding the door open. As soon as he saw who was at the door he slammed it shut.

"OI!" A voice yelled out from the other side of the door.

"Gin-chan who is it-aru?" Kagura asked hearing the commotion.

"Don't worry Kagura it's nobody." Gintoki replied back.

"OI IF YOU DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR IMMEDIATELY I'M GOING TO HAVE SOUGO BAZOOKA THIS DOOR OPEN." The voice yelled out.

"OI YOU TAX ROBBERS HAVE NO RIGHT TO BREAK INTO SOMEONE'S HOUSE FORCIBLY LIKE THAT. I'M NOT OPENING THIS DAMN DOOR FOR YOU MAYORA." Gintoki yelled back.

"HURRY UP AND OPEN THE DAMN DOOR THIS IS IMPORTANT." Hijikata yelled.

"HOW IMPORTANT COULD IT BE?! IT'S PROBABLY SOME SMALL THING." Gintoki kept being persistent.

Hijikata lowered his voice and said, "it's about the series of killings that's been going on. We need your help."

Gintoki calmed down after hearing the reason why the damn tax robbers came all the way to his apartment. He slid the door open. "Come on in."

Hijikata sat on the opposite side of Kagura and Gintoki. He took a cigarette out from the pack and took out his mayonnaise bottle lighter and lit the cigarette. He took a deep breath from the cigarette and exhaled.

"I'm assuming you heard about the string of murders that's been going on." Hijikata said.

"Well, duh. That's the only reason I let you in after you said that." Gintoki replied while picking his nose. "So, what kind of help do you need from us?" Gintoki asked.

"Well we got information that he's currently residing in the independent city, Yoshiwara. Since the government has no rule in the city, I was wondering if you can get the Hyakka's leader to collaborate with us and help us get our culprit." Hijikata said as he took in another breath from the cigarette.

"So you want us to ask Tsukuyo for help. Why should we do that for you tax robbers?" Gintoki asked.

A vein appeared on Hijikita's face. "It's not for us. It's for the women who got murdered and for any more possible victims."

"Mayora's right Gin-chan." Kagura chimed in. "Alright we'll ask Tsukki for help. So you can leave it to us and go Mayora. We'll let you know what Tsukki says."

"Alright, thanks. I leave it to you guys." Hijikata got up and left.

Gintoki sighed. "Yosh. Let's head to Yoshiwara." Internally Gintoki was scared as hell because of what had happened the night before. _I'm prepared for all the kunais in the world._

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Gintoki and Kagura were in Yoshiwara and walking towards the shop where Tsukuyo resides. Kagura saw Tsukuyo sitting and smoking her kiseru from a distance and ran towards her.

"TSUKKI!" Kagura yelled out. She hugged Tsukuyo while rubbing her head back and forth. "I missed you so much Tsukki! How have you been-aru? Also thank you again for bringing stupid Gin-chan back home safely-aru."

Tsukuyo gave Kagura a small smile. "Hiya there Kagura. It's no problem really. I missed ya ta. What brings ya and Gintoki ta Yoshiwara?" Tsukuyo asked.

Gintoki entered in the conversation. "Y-Yo Tsukuyo. We're here to ask you for help actually."

"Help? Is somethin' wrong? What can I help ya with?" Tsukuyo asked.

"It's a long story actually." Gintoki replied.

"Give me one second." Tsukuyo walked into the back of the shop and brought back out hot tea and dangos for Gintoki and Kaugra. She set it down next to them. "Okay, ah'm ready ta hear tha story."

Gintoki proceeded to tell her the whole story and why he was asking for help. "So yeah. That's why we need your help."

"I see. I did hear 'bout tha murders, but I didn' know the murderer was residin' in Yoshiwara." Tsukuyo admitted. "Ah'll do mah best ta help the Shinsengumi out."

"Great. Thanks Tsukuyo we appreciate it." Gintoki was grateful she agreed. "Kagura, go let Mayora know that Tsukuyo's helping out."

"Roger that." Kagura said. "Bye Tsukki, I'll see you next time, hope you and Gin-chan have some lovey dovey time!" Kagura said as she had the biggest grin on her face.

"Bye Kagura, see ya. Get home safe, ya hear? A-An' what do ya mean lovey dovey time?!" Tsukuyo said.

"I will! You know what I mean hehe." Kagura giggled and skipped. Bye!" Kagura smiled and gave a wave as she was leaving.

Tsukuyo calmed down from Kagura's comment and turned serious again. "Gintoki, I don' think ya should let Kagura and Shinpachi follow ya in with this one." Tsukuyo said with a concerned voice.

"I was thinking the same. I would like to keep them out of this one also." Gintoki agreed.

A huge wave of relief overcame Tsukuyo. "The Hyakka an' ah'll investigate an' let ya know 'bout anythin' that pops up."

"No need to. I'm going to help you out." Gintoki responded.

"Y-Ya don' have ta. Ah've got this under control." Tsukuyo argued.

"Just accept my help damn woman. We don't know what kind of monster we're dealing with. Besides, this case could use all the help it could get." Gintoki said seriously.

Tsukuyo reluctantly gave in. "F-Fine. Just don' get yerself in any trouble without me, alright?"

"Alright Tsukki~" Gintoki replied teasingly.

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It was nighttime in Yoshiwara once again. Gintoki was at a bar just enjoying some free food, while Tsukuyo was out working. Gintoki dare not lay a finger on alcohol because of the terrible hangover that he had this morning.

 _I get the feeling that I'm being watched. But by who?_ Gintoki thought.

Sitting at the corner of the bar was Hayate. He was cautiously keeping his eye on Gintoki. _Tonight's the perfect night to get rid of him._

"Ah I'm so full. Thanks for the free food." Gintoki got up and started to take his leave.

"Please come again savior of Yoshiwara!" The staff chirped as Gintoki was waving at them.

Hayate immediately followed Gintoki, but made sure to be like a shadow in the night so Gintoki wouldn't notice.

Gintoki kept walking around and ended up walking towards a secluded area to lure this person out. _Someone's following me. Whoever it is, is not so lucky to run into me._ He came into a dead end and immediately turned around. "Show yourself." Gintoki yelled out.

A minute after Gintoki yelled a man stepped out from the shadow of the night. He had the most sinister smile on his face. He gave off such an eerie feeling it managed to send a small shiver down Gintoki's spine. The man finally spoke. "Hello there Sakata-san."

"Who are you and why are you following me?" Gintoki asked coldly.

"Ah, my apologies. I go by the name Hayate." Hayate bowed his head down slightly.

"Why are you following me?" Gintoki asked once more.

Hayate went silent. He kept the sinister smile on his face. All of a sudden Hayate lunged forward to attack Gintoki. But instead of attacking Gintoki, he threw mud on his face. This caused Gintoki to lose his vision. Hayate then slashed Gintoki's right arm.

 _C-Crap. There was something on that weapon! I'm starting to feel numb. That sword has got to be poisoned. This is bad. I can't move my arm._

Meanwhile Tsukuyo was now patrolling the area right near where Gintoki was at the very moment. She was looking for him because he had promised to meet her at the bar. But by the time she got there, he was gone. _Damn where could he be?!_ Then she was in front of the path that led to a secluded area. Something in her heart kept telling her to check the area out. _Ah'm gettin' some weird vibes. I think I needa check tha place out._ Tsukuyo started running towards the area where Gintoki was.

"You know Sakata-san. I personally think you're a great man. It's such a shame really. If you only didn't come near my woman." Hayate said.

 ***Pant, pant*** Gintoki's breathing got labored and his voice turned coarse. "I-I don't remember messing with any man's woman."

"Oh, really? Hm. Well I guess we're not officially together as of now. We will be though once you're out of the picture." Hayate replied. Then he grabbed Gintoki by the collar and said, "Tsukuyo is mine. She's mine. If I can't have her, you can't have her."

 _This guy! He's after Tuskuyo. This guy… he's obsessed with Tsukuyo. Wait a minute…_ Just as Gintoki was about to puzzle the pieces together his thoughts were put to a halt by Hayate's creepy voice.

"Good-bye Sakata-san." Hayate then let out an unnatural laugh. ***AHAHAHAHAHAHA*** Just as he was about to deliver his final blow they heard a voice.

"Hey! What's goin' on there?!" Tsukuyo yelled out. _It looks like a fight is goin' on there._ She then hurled her kunais at Hayate. Hayate barely managed to deflect them and he ran off. Like a shadow he just disappeared. _Tsk, the guy got away._ Tsukuyo continued to run and saw a body leaning against the wall. She noticed the all familiar yukata anywhere. "GINTOKIIIIII!" Tsukuyo yelled. "Oi Gintoki. Hang in there ah'm gonna get ya some help!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Perhaps being someone's shadow wasn't bad after all

Tsukuyo managed to get Gintoki the medical attention he needed just in time. His arm was bandaged up and the poison was removed from his body. All he needed to do now was rest up and let the wound recover.

"Looks like you've saved my life once again." Gintoki said. "Now that I think about it you've been saving my life from the very first day we met."

"Ya've been savin' me ta ya know." Tsukuyo replied calmly. "How are ya feelin' now?" Tsukuyo asked with a worried face

"Much better thanks to you." Gintoki said with a smile.

"Ya idiot. I told ya to wait fer me after ya were done eatin'. Why did ya go off?" Tsukuyo asked.

"I noticed I was being watched by someone, so I left trying to lure him." Gintoki replied. Tsukuyo put her hand on top of Gintoki's. Gintoki knew that this was her way of saying, "I worried about you, you idiot." Gintoki smiled and turned his hand palm up to hold her's. "I'm okay, don't worry."

Tsukuyo tried giving him her best reassuring smile. "Tell me everything that happened." She said softly.

"Alright. I'll tell you everything." Gintoki told her exactly everything that went down. "Tsukuyo he's obsessed with you. I put the pieces together and he leaves all his victims looking abnormally similar to you. It's almost as if he's imagining all of them were you."

Tsukuyo became silent, but soon after spoke up. "I have ta be honest with ya. Ah've been noticing some man has been shadowin' me. He usually does it durin' tha nighttime, but he's been doin' it even in broad daylight now. I just pretend I don' notice it though. We should let tha Shinsengumi know about this."

"I agree." Gintoki said with a nod.

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Gintoki told the Shinsengumi all that has happened and the new information they had discovered. Gintoki, Tsukuyo and the Shinsengumi agreed that it was time to capture the criminal. They devised a plan where to find out where Hayate's exact hiding place is and how to capture him. Yamazaki was tasked to stake out in Yoshiwara and find out exactly where Hayate lives. After a week he found out the exact location and the time to implement the plan came. Tsukuyo and Gintoki were going to be the ones to bring Hayate down and arrest him.

"You ready?" Gintoki whispered.

Tsukuyo gave Gintoki a nod to confirm that she was ready. "Gintoki stay safe alright?"

Gintoki nodded. "You stay safe too. If you encounter anything at any given moment scream my name. I'll come running to you."

"Same goes for ya." Tsukuyo replied.

They were both now ready to carry out the mission. They successfully infiltrated Hayate's hideout. The place oddly appeared normal, but who knows what messed up thing they could come across? They both went their separate ways in order to track Hayate down faster. As they were searching and looking around Gintoki found a strange and heavy door all the way in the back corner. He slowly and carefully opened the door and entered the small room. He was shocked at what he just discovered. The room smelled like rotting flesh. There was what appeared to be a bloody metal surgical bed with bloody surgical utensils. Blood was splattered all over the wall. There were pictures of Tsukuyo everywhere. Gintoki noticed a pile of books and read through them briefly. There were journals of all the daily activities he observed her doing and even jotted down her schedule. He even written down the deepest darkest things he planned on doing to Tsukuyo that was too explicit to say.

 _This bastard is beyond sick. He'll pay for this._ Right as Gintoki was about to leave the room he heard the door close and lock from the outside. Then that creepy ass laugh was heard once more.

 ***AHAHAHAHAHA*** "You thought you could capture me? Not even in your dreams Sakata-san." Hayate clicked on a button on a remote control that he was holding on to. Heavy concentration of some kind of gas started filling up the room Gintoki was now stuck in.

 _Ack! What is this gas entering in this room? Tsukuyo...Tsukuyo's still out there and alone with him!_

Just then a voice was heard. "Ya bastard! Let Gintoki out this instance."

"Ah, Tsukuyo. Welcome to my house. Do you like your stay? I'm afraid Sakata-san won't able to make it out alive. The gas that is filling up the room he's in right now is high concentration of carbon monoxide. It will kill him in less than 5 minutes." Hayate said with pleasure. He swallowed up the key that unlocked the door. "You'll finally be mine. All to myself." ***HEHEHEHEHEHEHE*** "M I N E."

 _This guy's mentally dangerous. I needa keep mah guard up. I needa get Gintoki outta there right now!_ Tsukuyo glared at Hayate. "Ya'll pay fer this ya bastard." Rage consumed Tsukuyo. She threw her kunais as a distraction and jumped right up to Hayate and hit him on the pressure points hard enough to knock him out. "Darn it he swallowed the key before. Ah'm just gonna have to use my body." Tsukuyo kept a great distance between her and the door and repeatedly hurled her body at the door. Her arm and the side of her rib broke. After a minute of throwing all her weight on the door it broke down. Gintoki was passed out on the floor. She held her breath and ran into the room. She held Gintoki up and brought him out of the room. The Shinsengumi saw the state that she and Gintoki were in and got them medical attention. The policemen went inside and took out the temporarily unconscious Hayate.

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A week passed by and Tsukuyo and Gintoki finally had some time to meet up and catch up after all that had happened.

"Yo!" Gintoki greeted Tsukuyo.

"Hey Gintoki. How are ya doin?" Tsukuyo asked with worry in her voice.

"I'm all good and back to normal. Wish I could say the same for you though." He said as he looked at her cast.

"This is nothin'. Ah'll be gettin' it off in a couple of weeks or so." Tsukuyo said reassuringly. "So what happened ta that damn bastard?!"

"Well they said he's going to go on trial and then get his hearing, so we should be able to know what'll happen to him soon." Gintoki responded. Gintoki couldn't take his eyes off Tsukuyo's cast. He then touched Tsukuyo's cast and bent down to gently kiss it.

"G-Gintoki! What are ya doin'?!" Tsukuyo asked in shock.

"What does it think I'm doing? I'm kissing my woman's cast. She broke her bones trying to save my life you know." Gintoki's tone changed to sadness. "Why didn't you tell me you were being followed around? Who knows what that guy could've done to you if we just left things as it was?"

"I didn' wanna worry ya. I didn' think it would go this deep. I'm sorry Gintoki." Tsukuyo apologized.

Gintoki sighed in resignation. "You know I worry about you regardless. I would be devastated if I were to ever lose you." An idea went off in his head. "Since I know you're a stubborn ass woman and you're always trying to handle everything on your own, I'll just become your shadow!"

Tsukuyo was puzzled. "Hah? What does that even mean Gintoki?"

"Okay so you know how shadows are there wherever you go? I'll be your shadow meaning I'll follow you wherever you go. Secondly, you know how shadows can be a cool place where you can rest from the harsh sun? I'll be the shadow you can take shelter in forever whether you're sad, mad, happy, just feeling like it, etc." Gintoki proudly explained.

Tsukuyo was touched by Gintoki's explanation. _That was a beautiful explanation._ She cleared her throat. "In that case ah'll be yer shadow too Gintoki. Ah'll be with ya wherever ya go and ya can take refuge in me whenever and forever."

Gintoki was touched by Tsukuyo saying she wanted to be his shadow too. _She really has come a long way in expressing her emotions._ He was overcome with bliss. He gently embraced her and gave a soft kiss on her hair.

"You're my favorite kind of shadow you know." Gintoki said confidently.

"Hoh? What a coincidence. Ya happen ta be mah favorite kinda shadow too." Tsukuyo said with conviction.

They found comfort in each other's shadows. Further down the road in life they brought into this world two new lives whose shadows would happily walk in between theirs.


End file.
